The week before Easter (with the stock market closed for Good Friday) is often one of the most quiet on the Wall Street calendar and typically a prime time for companies to announce news that would benefit from a lack of scrutiny. Last week’s announcement that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway would become a big shareholder in Goldman Sachs is a case in point.

On the surface, the deal looks like a win-win all around, with headlines declaring that Berkshire is taking a 2 percent stake in the company and Goldman basking in the glow of the imprimatur of the world’s most famous investor.

Trouble is, as with most things Goldman and most things Buffett, the facts get in the way of the spin.

Let’s look at Buffett’s original investment in Goldman back in the desperate days of October 2008. Many a dinner party has been marred by a Goldman partner insisting that “Goldman never needed a bailout.” But the facts speak volumes to the contrary.

Not only did Goldman agree to pay a king’s ransom of 10 percent on the $5 billion lifeline extended by Buffett back then, it also gave him the right to purchase a big chunk of the company at below-market prices through warrants that were in the money when they were issued. One doesn’t have to be a Mensa member to figure out that Goldman was on the brink.

With Goldman shares up 17 percent since October 2008, the gain on those warrants might have been enough for mere mortals, but not for the folksy billionaire from Omaha. No, instead of ponying up a few billion to secure a 9 percent stake in Wall Street’s most storied name, last week Buffett took a pass, settling for an outright grant of 2 percent of the company, valued at $1.4 billion.

Better still, in true Buffett fashion, the Oracle managed to do it in tax-minimizing fashion, crafting another sweetheart deal for himself.

Taxes, for those who have been living under a rock for the past few years, are something Buffett highly recommends for high-income Americans, with the exception of himself and his billionaire buddies, despite his public pronouncements.

Once again, Buffett has found the magic bullet that keeps his shareholders flush, without having to pay a penny to Uncle Sam.

“The nuance is, he structures a deal that is very tax advantageous to himself,” notes Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital. “Meanwhile, he’s constantly going off about why the rich are not paying their fair share.”

Then there is Goldman. No doubt its high-octane p.r. team was thrilled with the press last week, which cemented the impression that Buffett was a bull on Goldman shares. But Buffett’s actions show that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, presented with the opportunity for the second time in 4 1/2 years, Buffett has punted on a significant Goldman investment. The first time was back in 2008, when he demanded a high-yielding preferred stock rather than taking a direct equity stake, and the second was last week, when he traded the opportunity to use his own money to invest in 9 percent of Goldman at a huge discount in favor of a risk-free 2 percent of the company.

Yes, when it comes to investing his billions in 2013, Buffett’s actions couldn’t send a stronger message: The octogenarian of Omaha far prefers Heinz and its 57 varieties to Goldman and its 5,700 varieties of financial instruments.